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Letter to the Editor

Autobody by Caldwell to Remove Its Name from Suit Accusing Paint Makers of Price-Fixing

Autobody by Caldwell Inc. of Laguna Hills, California, the only named plaintiff in a lawsuit filed in June in federal court against the world's largest paint makers, is removing its name from the suit, according to owner Kevin Caldwell, former head of the Collision Division of national organization ASA.

The suit, claiming paint makers have engaged in price fixing, alleged that repair shops paid "artificially inflated prices" for refinishing products and requests money damages and an injunction barring collusion. It also seeks class-action status to include other auto body shops.

Caldwell said his decision, which he discussed while attending the July CIC meeting, came after careful review of the complaint. Caldwell says he realized that his situation relates to his concern with only one specific paint company rather than to the issue of industry-wide price-fixing.

Directly on the heels of a Justice Department investigation into possible anticompetitive practices in the automotive refinishing industry, lawsuits claiming that the world's largest paint makers have engaged in price fixing are: unbelievable/puzzling/saddening/angering/confusing/frightening (Select one or more of these adjectives).

The paint makers have denied wrongdoing. Accused in the lawsuit are PPG Industries Inc. of Pittsburgh; Sherwin-Williams Co. of Cleveland; DuPont, of Wilmington, Del.; BASF AG of Germany, which has its U.S. subsidiary in Mount Olive, N.J.; and Akzo Nobel NV of the Netherlands, which has U.S. bases in Chicago and Norcross, Ga.

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